What can I say, I'm just a loving father. I have other stuff going right now so it is no big deal. I think I will maybe start a second game for me alone, and I'll play it through that way. Then, when they want to see it, I will play the one we were working on if that is possible.

I have just beaten Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix HD on Proud (hardest difficulty in the game), it's as great as on the PS2! The HD upgrade is gorgeous, really looks good. Proud is definitely a lot harder than the normal difficulty (completed it on PS2 on normal back in the days) but it's a nice challenge and not too punishing either. I'll keep playing to get some other stuff like the last two coliseum battles, finding the remaining dalmatians, the Winnie the Pooh pages,...

"Rob? Tsk tsk tsk. That's a naughty word. We never rob. We just sort of borrow a bit from those who can afford it." - Robin Hood

Square Enix is extra secretive with its coveted Kingdom Hearts franchise, but we were able to interview co-director Tai Yasue, who's currently working on Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix. The collection includes the Final Mix for Kingdom Hearts II and Birth By Sleep, on top of updated cutscenes from Re:coded. Yasue not only offered insight into Kingdom Hearts 2.5, but he also shared how development on Kingdom Hearts III is coming along.

Did you take any fan feedback from Kingdom Hearts 1.5 into account that influenced Kingdom Hearts 2.5?

Actually with 1.5, there weren't a lot of complaints. There usually is, right? But one thing there was from more of our Japanese players was for the [theater mode]; they wanted more battle scenes. They wanted to see the battle scenes. So, we put a lot of battle scenes in Re:coded and we made them have cutscenes. They're not real-time battles, but they're actually made like an action movie, sort of. You get a whole new understanding of the story that way.

I read that with Re:coded, you added more scenes and there was one that was going to transition more into Dream Drop Distance? Is that true?

Actually, not the secret...Well, there's actually a secret event at the end, right? But that doesn't transition - well, actually - how do you know that? It sort of does connect to other Kingdom Hearts titles, so you get to know about the backstory, how they started maybe, and what happened at the other end where there wasn't really much of an explanation. You get a fuller understanding if you watch it all; it gets added at the very end so you can see that.

Westerners are going to finally get to play the Final Mix versions of Kingdom Hearts II and Birth By Sleep, but outside of that, what other additions are there?

I think the big thing is Re:coded and the Final Mix, because it was really well received in Japan. We really wanted our American and European fanbase to play that. There are a lot of boss scenes added, there are [Mushroom Heartless XIII] missions in Kingdom Hearts II, and a lot of forms added in Kingdom Hearts II that should be really enjoyable. Also, for Birth By Sleep, there's a secret episode at the very end where Aqua has an adventure in the realm of Dark and [it has] a boss and a lot of stages, so that should be enjoyable.

A lot of the things I love about Kingdom Hearts were in the Final Mix version. Right now I'm attempting to fight Roxas... He's very strong and I'm fighting him in the critical mode, which is very difficult, [but] I get a lot of satisfaction. For the hardcore gamers, I think that would be very enjoyable; you need a lot of strategy. Also, Lingering Will. Lingering Will is an armored guy who is a manifestation of Terra in Birth By Sleep. His weapons actually transform into different shapes. A lot of our Japanese players say that is one of the most intense battles in Kingdom Hearts.

The multiplayer for Birth By Sleep isn't going to be included. Why was that decision made?

That's right. We get that a lot. We didn't get that much feedback like that from our Japanese players, but I guess in the European and American market I think multiplayer is important, so we did take that into consideration. But for the Mirage Arena, we took [our] schedule into consideration. We were actually developing Kingdom Hearts III and 2.5 at the same time, and it's very difficult. There was a point where we wanted to switch our resources to Kingdom Hearts III and get that moving faster, so we didn't put the multiplayer in. But we actually left the Mirage Arena world, so you can enjoy the stage using single-player mode. We readjusted the battles and the enemies for single player. We added a game-specific rule where there's a challenge mode for each battle that wasn't in the original multiplayer mode and you get bonus medals for that. And also the A.I., we tweaked that, especially the ones at the end. The end A.I. are more complex, intelligent, and quicker. Also, there were a lot of long battles and in single-player mode that can get stressful, so we adjusted that, so it doesn't take that much time. [They're] shorter battles, but more advanced.

Have you thought of doing anything with Dream Drop Distance, like as a standalone digital HD release, or doing something for people to experience it who maybe don't own a 3DS?

We're definitely going to consider [Dream Drop Distance], but we just made it, right? Two years ago. So I don't know. One of the things that we're going to take into consideration is that a lot of the titles are now old and people are starting to forget about them. So we put out 1.5 and 2.5 before III, but [Dream Drop Distance] was actually really recent, so we didn't incorporate that into 2.5. We will consider how we're going to do Dream Drop Distance, but there are a lot of things to think about. We don't want to stop [progress on] Kingdom Hearts III. That has to move along quickly.

The controls were smoothed out pretty considerably in 1.5. What things are you doing with Birth By Sleep's PSP controls?

Yeah, we actually changed it. Camera wise you can use the right stick to move the camera, so that's been readjusted for the PS3. It will feel very natural. I think it's something that you won't feel stressed about. People won't even notice it because it's smooth.

The Kingdom Hearts games are infamous for their ending teasers. I'm guessing that 2.5 would be teasing something into Kingdom Hearts III?

I can't really say at this moment. For Kingdom Hearts 2.5, I think everything has to do with Kingdom Hearts III. It will connect. The whole experience, the theater and the story, will all connect to Kingdom Hearts III. I'm not being specific on purpose. [laughs]

In 1.5, seeing what trophies were introduced was interesting. Do you know of any from 2.5 off the top of your head?

Yeah, for 2.5, there's a lot...several actually. For example, there are a lot of easy and difficult ones that we're actually tweaking right now. One of them is Anti Form - how many times you become Dark Sora, or how many times for Kingdom Hearts II, Mickey comes along, Mickey stays with you. For Kingdom Hearts II, the gameplay is very diverse; there are a lot of things you can do, so there was a lot of room to make trophies. I think there's a lot more trophies in Kingdom Hearts 2.5 than 1.5. Kingdom Hearts II and Birth By Sleep really have a lot of gameplay.

Also thought I'd post this article for any animation fans out there (haha, this is a Disney based forum...), there was originally a planned Kingdom Hearts animated series, and they had a really interesting idea for the backgrounds...

While supplies last, all preorders of Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX will qualify for a Limited Edition upgrade which includes an official Disney Collectible KINGDOM HEARTS pin featuring Mickey Mouse and Sora!